


The Line Of Durin

by devilbunny



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Durin Family Feels, Gen, Pre-Hobbit, dwarflings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-29
Updated: 2015-08-29
Packaged: 2018-04-17 20:24:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4680179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/devilbunny/pseuds/devilbunny
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What happened to the dwarfs of Erebor in the time between the destruction of their mountain and the meeting with Bilbo Baggins?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Destroyed

Chaos  
That was the only thing left.  
Sobs and Screams echoed from the stone walls. Once they had been a protection against their foes but now they had turned into a prison which they had to escape. Because their enemy had invaded their home and taken everything they loved. The survivors fled from the well-known halls. Nobody had taken his belongings and it seemed like they would never be able to return.  
Erebor was lost.

Thorin threw himself into the mass of fleeing dwarves trying to make out familiar faces. “Dís!” he screamed desperately. “Frerin!” He hadn’t seen his little sister and younger brother since the dragon had appeared in the sky. Now the fear took his breath away. It couldn’t be that he just had saved his grandfather’s life but had to realize that his siblings had been killed by the beast! He felt Thrór tuck at his arm. The old dwarf was completely helpless at the moment. Thorin forced his eyes away from his frightened kin and took a hold of his grandfather’s and king’s shoulders. “Father is at the head of the train.” he said. “I will meet you there!”  
Thrór looked like he would argue against it but then his eyes fell on the burning mountain behind them and shaking he started looking for Thráin, Thorin’s father.  
The sweat was pouring down his face as Thorin turned away from his leaving grandfather. He had solved one problem it seemed, at least for the moment. If he could only see…  
“THORIN!”  
He turned his head that his raven hair was flying around him and saw Dís running towards him carrying her baby in her arms. Little Fíli was stumbling behind her.  
“Thorin, Fíli is exhausted! He can’t keep walking! “  
No more words were needed. Thorin bend down immediately and picked his nephew up keeping him tucked safely against his broad chest. The blond dwarfling was shaking violently and tears were escaping his red eyes in a steady flow but not one sound left his lips. He only buried his pale face in Thorin’s neck, hiding from this cruel, cruel world.  
“Dís” Thorin wheezed as they kept running. “Where is Frerin?”  
She was just about to answer as somebody hit Thorin hard on his back. If it hadn’t been for Fíli in his arms he would have drawn his sword.  
“Here!” His brother caught up with them entirely. “I have been looking for stragglers.”  
Thorin wasn’t sure if he should be angry because of the recklessness of his brother or proud because he fulfilled his duties as a prince of Durin’s folk. He didn’t do either but jolted as he heard a loud crash behind them. All of the sudden the whole bunch of dwarves stopped and turned around. Falling rocks had blocked the main gate. Erebor was shut down and all the dwarves who hadn’t been able to flee were now imprisoned with a murderous fire breathing dragon. Smaug would feast on them and Thorin was doomed to just let in happen. He curled his fingers into fists so tight that his fingernails broke the skin and blood dribbled down his hands.  
This worm will pay for everything! I will kill him with my bare hands! He will choke and cry out in pain and suffer! He will rue that day he laid his wicked eyes on our home! I will make him pay for all, I…  
“Brother, come.” said Frerin’s soothing voice. “Here is no hope left for us.”  
Thorin had to force his eyes away from his burning home only to see the wet faces of his siblings. Only then he started to realize that one face was missing in their usual round…  
As if Fíli had read his mind he started to whimper: “Ada… I want Ada…”  
Thorin shot Dís a questioning look but she only shook her head whimpering and clinged to her youngest son. Thorin felt his blood boil.  
Smaug had taken Dís’ husband, her One.  
“Take Kíli.” he said to Frerin. As his sister cried out in pain and hid her face in the baby’s dark locks he added: “Just for a while, sister. We have got a long travel ahead us. You should rest. Kíli’s birth was barely a week ago.”  
She shot an uncertain look to both of her brothers but then he handed Frerin the infant carefully. Then she went to the head of the homeless dwarves. Weeping she threw herself into the arms of her father who held her and stared with an unfocussed look at the lost mountain.  
“We should say something.” whispered Frerin as he and Thorin followed Dís slowly.  
“And what would that be?” his brother asked with a hollow voice. He embraced Fíli tightly in order to make the trembling stop. “There are no words for her loss.” He looked at the smoke covered sky. “And neither for ours. “


	2. Alone

“Father, where do you lead us?” Thorin’s face showed his disbelieve. “You can’t be serious about this!” His father didn’t even bother to turn around but kept marching sternly towards the giant woods that lay upon them. With a suppressed growl Thorin grabbed Thráin by his arm. “We can’t march into Mirkwood!” He forced the older dwarf to stop. “The Elves betrayed us! They didn’t offer any help as Smaug attacked – Even more, they blame us for the raid! When they find they will imprison us!” Thorin was about to say more but then his father turned around to face him. Thorin looked him in the eyes and felt like he was punched in the gut: Nothing spoke from his look but numbness and despair. Thorin’s heard ached. He didn’t recognize his father anymore.  
“There has to be another way.” he whispered in one last attempt to change his father’s mind. At first Thráin didn’t react at all and Thorin was about to begin searching for his siblings, which were looking after Thrór. Maybe Frerin could help him to…  
In that exact moment a loud slap was heard and a hot, burning pain exploded on Thorin’s face. Out of reflex he touched his cheek and felt that it was hot. Shocked he looked at his father who stood in front of him, fury written all over his face. “You dare to speak up like this to your father?” he hissed. “Lacking all respect as if I was some beggar on the street! Never forget your place, boy!” And he started to head for the forest once more.  
“Father, no!” Thorin cried out nevertheless and buried the shock about his first slap by his father deep inside his mind. “Thránduil won’t help us!”  
With his arm raised Thráin turned back around. “Haven’t you learned your lesson yet?” But Thorin wasn’t hit once more. When Thráin’s hand started to race down to Thorin’s burning cheek a strong hand caught it in the air and held his father back by his wrist.   
“With all respect, my Prince Thráin” Dwalin’s deep voice was heard. “I think your son is right when he asks you to think about your decision once more.”  
“You too, Dwalin?” Thráin panted. “You too forgot how to trait your prince?”  
“Not at all, your majesty.” the warrior replied with a voice hard as steel and let Thorin’s father go. “In fact I am protecting the youngest in the line like I was told to years ago.” He looked Thráin in the eyes. “By no other than yourself, your highness.”  
Thráin held his look for a moment and then faced away abruptly. “Get your siblings!” he ordered Thorin. “You will come with me to my meeting with the King of the Woodlandrealm!”  
“What?” Thorin asked horrified. “Dís can’t come, father! She has to recover from the birth!”  
“Birth?” Thráin mumbled silently and Thorin felt a cold shiver run down his back from the sound of his voice. “What birth?”  
“That one of your second grandson!” How could he have forgotten? “Kíli is ten days old!”  
For a moment Thráin seemed terribly confused but after some moments his expression again grew hard as stone. “Alright.” He said. “´Then only you and your brother shall accompany me!” He turned to Dwalin. “Go get Frerin!” The dwarf made a disapproving face but bowed slightly and left. Thorin and his father waited in silence. As he looked at the stiff shoulders of Thráin and the grim expression that never seemed to leave his face Thorin couldn’t help but fear that he had lost his father forever.

“So” Thránduil’s voice snarled through the room. “The rats have left the sinking ship, it seems. At least that much of a sane mind you still had.”  
“We are here to ask for your help, oh King Thránduil.” Thráin bowed down. “My people are tired, shocked and hungry. Will you offer us shelter?”  
Wouldn’t it have been for Frerin’s iron-like grip on his elbow, Thorin would have already paced to the front and had dragged his father out of this wicked place – by his beard if necessary!  
Thránduil looked smug as he told Thráin to get up. “And why” he asked “should I offer you my help? What is the use for me?”  
He wanted payment! Thorin saw red. Arrogant, bold, disgusting….

“We are rich, your majesty.” Thorin could vomit at Thráin’s eager tone. “We have got diamonds, rubies, mithril, gold…”  
“Gold!” Thránduil started to laugh. It was not amused but like a hiss of a snake and made his flawless face ugly. “That was what got you into in your misery in the first place but still you think that it will save your life!” He got up from his wooden throne and towered over Thráin. “You have nothing, you pathetic dwarf! The whole lot of you was greedy and demanding and you only got what you deserved. And now you come to me, begging and crawling like beaten dogs. I will give you nothing, Thráin, son of Thrór, former prince under the mountain! See how you will provide the miserable lives of your people. And now stop wasting my time, dwarf!”

They reached the camp that the dwarfs had set up on the shore of the Long Lake. Dwalin had been waiting for them and once he saw the grim faces of the approaching princes he had made sure that nobody would bother them with any questions. He could be damn frightening after all. Thorin had told him about their unpleasant encounter and Dwalin had to hold him back from marching back into Mirkwood and burning down the elven palace so Thránduil could see how pleasant it was to be homeless.  
“Leave that damn tree-shagger be, Thorin.” he said and head-bumped his friend slightly. “You are needed elsewhere.” He nodded to Thráin who sat on a trunk. He hadn’t said a word since they had returned. Thorin sighted heavy and then made his was up to his father. It was an awkward silence with Thorin not knowing how to break it. He thought he could still feel his cheek burn but that was nonsense. He told himself that his father didn’t mean to do it. He was stressed beyond a level that he could bear like all of them. Yeah, Thorin kept himself telling that but he couldn’t stop himself from flinching as Thráin suddenly lifted his left arm. His father lifted his gaze at the sudden movement and as he saw that his son eyed him with a mixture of fear, doubt and stubbornness, he felt like his heart would break entirely. “You’re scared of me.” he choked out.  
Thorin looked at his father and saw unshed tears glistering in his eyes. He slammed his own shut. It was all so damn unfair! He didn’t want to see his father cry, his people suffering and his grandfather slowly dying of grief! He wanted to run into his chambers back in Erebor and burry his face in his pillows to shut the world out like he had done it many times when he had difficulties with his duties.  
But this wasn’t possible anymore so Thorin got up and knelt before Thráin. He pulled the head of his father down and touched their foreheads. It was a gesture of pure love, trust and a little spark of hope and it was so much more than a simple hug could offer. With his thumb he wiped away the tear that had escaped his father’s eye.  
“I’m sorry, Thorin.” Thráin whispered in a thick voice. “I am so, so sorry. Forgive me.”  
“Ada, there is no need for forgiveness.”  
Thráin nodded slightly. “We have lost everything in this world but at least we are not alone.”


End file.
